1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to manufacturing and, in particular, to manufacturing structures using a stackup of parts. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for identifying a distance to a center of a hole from the edges of parts in a stackup of parts.
2. Background
Manufacturing products such as vehicles may be a complex process. For example, manufacturing an aircraft may involve fabricating various components and subassemblies. These components and subassemblies may be integrated to form the aircraft.
As one illustrative example, different components may be assembled to form a wingbox. Skin panels may then be attached to the wingbox to form a wing for an aircraft. In another illustrative example, different parts may be connected to each other to form a frame for a fuselage of an aircraft. Skin panels, stringers, and other components may then be positioned relative to the frame to cover the frame and form the fuselage.
These and other types of operations involved in manufacturing a vehicle, such as an aircraft, often involve positioning parts relative to each other and interconnecting those parts. In some cases, positioning the parts relative to each other includes overlapping at least some portions of the parts to form a stackup of parts. As used herein, a stackup of parts may also be referred to as a workpiece.
The different parts in a stackup of parts may be connected to each other using fastener systems. Typically, a hole is drilled in two or more parts in a stackup of parts. A fastener system may then be installed in the hole to connect the parts to each other. The fastener system may include any number of components such as, for example, without limitation, a bolt, a nut, a screw, a rivet, and/or other types of components.
The location in which the hole is to be drilled may vary depending on a number of factors. These factors may include, for example, without limitation, the types of parts into which the hole is to be drilled, the material composition of these parts, the design for the structure to be formed using the stackup of parts, and/or other factors.
In some cases, the location of the hole may depend on the size of the fastener system being installed in the hole. For example, requirements may be present for the minimum distance needed between the center of the hole and an edge of the part in the stackup of parts into which the hole is to be drilled. The distance between the center of the hole and the edge of the part may be referred to as an “edge distance”. The minimum edge distance required may depend on, for example, the size of the fastener system to be installed in the hole, the size of the hole to be formed, and/or other factors.
A human operator may identify the location for the hole based on the minimum edge distance required using a tool such as, for example, a ruler. However, since thousands of holes may need to be drilled in stackups of parts to form assemblies and subassemblies of an aircraft, identifying and marking the locations of such holes by scrupulously measuring the edge distances thereof with a ruler may be extremely time-consuming and cumbersome, especially when visual access to the parts is limited.
Using a ruler to measure edge distance requires effort and concentration from the operator. As a result, fatigue and associated misidentifications of locations for holes may occur. Furthermore, when a hole is to be drilled in a part having a corner or a projection, multiple measurements may need to be made using a ruler to ensure that the center of the hole is formed at the required edge distance from all edges of such corner or projection.